


SAO: Shining Shadows

by Okamisenpai34



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okamisenpai34/pseuds/Okamisenpai34
Summary: what would you do if you found out you were the last boss in a death game where people who die in the game, die in real life? Follow Kai and the brand new cast as they try to figure out how to make it out of this digital world alive!
Kudos: 1





	SAO: Shining Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at an SAO story. i haven't read the light novels so im basing all i know from the games and anime/manga, feel free to share your thoughts and let me know if you want me to keep this going!

**< <Congratulations, you’ve uncovered the dagger of Nadir!>>**

**< <Dungeon Master skill tree unlocked>>**

**< <role changed from (Player) to (Dungeon Keeper)>>**

I looked at the prompt in the holographic menu in front of me, the dagger in question tightly pressed against my chest.

“…What?” I managed to say before the dagger in my hand exploded into a show of light and sparks, making its way into my inventory.

I sat there for a good couple minutes, my head still trying to process what had just transpired.

With a shake of my head to clear my mind, I extend my right hand forward in an upward motion.

“Open menu.”

And with that the same holographic interface from earlier reappeared, showing my name, level and other miscellaneous information.

“Skills, Map…ah there it is.” I mutter to myself as I try to navigate the ever so cluttered menu, finally settling my index finger on the ‘Inventory’ tab.

after a good while trying to sort through the fodder items and monster drops, I finally arrived at the weapon in question. I scratched my head as my eyes fell upon the golden outline around the weapon’s name. Was yellow between orange and blue? No, that didn’t sound right…the forums never mentioned anything about yellow tier items dropping in the starter area dungeon, and what was up with that new title, was the dagger a part of some quest to unlock a new class?

There wasn’t any time to meddle on it any further, I picked myself off the ground and dusted off my armor before heading outside the dungeon.

A triumphant fare and a pop of confetti and there it was.

**_< <Dungeon Cleared: Fast travel has been unlocked>>_ **

How long had I been in there? There didn’t seem to be a completion time tab anywhere on the window so I just swiped it out of existence and made my way down the hill towards the Town of Beginnings.

The first floor didn’t have much to offer in terms of diversity. As you approached the higher-level sections of the map there wasn’t any new monsters. Mostly just reskins of existing mobs and reused assets. That was in no way, however, a negative thing, the first floor was dominant in terms of vegetation and nonaggressive NPC’s. For players that wanted to pursue a less battle-oriented job, they could always turn to farming and agriculture. It was only the second day in and there was already 3 player owned farms in the area.

The attention to detail in this game was astounding, leaving me speechless more often than not. For example, in the release day of the game the dirt path to the Town of Beginnings was in prestige condition- no marks, no loose rocks, or any out of place items, and now, 2 days later it was full of wagon tracks, footprints and bloodstains. They didn’t disappear at the same rate that such details usually would in other games, they seemed to stay imprinted in the world until another sort of event overwrote them.

“Hey, you there!” A female voice drove me from my daydream, driving my eyes forward from the ground.

As my eyes settled on the source of the noise, I tilted my head, the girl didn’t seem older than 12, hair up in twin tails and crimson ruby eyes.

“Can I help you?” I ask in a monotone voice, she flinched at my tone and pressed her index fingers together.

“Could you show me the way to the Town of Beginnings? I’m a bit lost.” The girl bowed in apology and stayed in position until I spoke up.

“Sure, I’m on my way there right now anyway.” I replied, pressing my palm unto my forehead.

_“Great…now I just wait for the babysitting quest prop to pop up.”_ I whisper to myself before swiping my right hand upwards, sending a digital envelope with my greeting card. “There’s my info, names on the card.”

The girl accepts it midair, reading it briefly and sending a digital card back my way.

“Here’s mine! Sorry for the delay, I try to memorize the name of everyone I meet!”, she says before looking down shyly with a slight blush to her cheeks.

I look at her from the corner of my eye before returning my focus to the player card in front of me.

“Silica, not a bad name. Creative.” I reply before bringing my arm down, causing the digital interface to disappear, bringing Silica back into view in front of me.

“Thank you, I could say the same to you Kai-San.” Silica replies with a smile.

The addition of honorifics caught me off guard, bringing my eyes unto the girl once again.

“ ‘san?’ You’re Japanese?” I reply with a quizzical look.

“Yes! Are you not Japanese as well? With a name like Kai I figured you’d be from around the area. Its even written in the correct characters!”

_Shit._

“I…I just watch a lot of anime back home so I liked the name…” I reply looking away to hide my embarrassment, “plus, didn’t you notice the icon on your HUD? On the top right corner, the little book icon that’s flashing. That’s the real time translation plugin.” I finish, pointing at the general area it would be in her vision.

She looked around in place before her eyes finally settled on the icon I described.

“Oh! I didn’t even know such a feature even existed, but I’m glad it does. Without it I wouldn’t be able to meet nice people like you.” She smiled warmly before turning around to face the Town in the distance.

_A nice person, huh._

My eyes settled on her minuscule back; a miniscule speck compared to the grandiose scenery around her. But yet, even if for just a small second, the girl seemed to glow.

“Right.” I give a quick reply and walk past her, moving to the center of the road, “let’s go, keep up.”

“Here you go, be careful out there.” I reply as we head down a nearby hill, the front gates of the Town of Beginnings coming into view. The ‘town’ itself was rather massive, looking more like a city than anything else. With massive walls covering the outer perimeter in a circular pattern. A long straight pathway from the north entrance led directly to the town square, where most players would be right now trying to establish raid parties and guilds.

“Thank you, I hope we meet again in Tolbana! Hey, if we meet again and we haven’t found a party how about we make one together?” She asked with hope in her eyes, her fingers crossed together once again.

She was a nice girl that was a given, but I don’t think someone like her would want to stick with me for too long. Not that I wanted her to anyway.

“I’ll think about it.” I replied before waving her goodbye and leaving her behind in the sea of players flooding the streets.

A few steps down the road a quiet ping caught my attention, followed by a small prompt of a letter on my HUD, a friend request.

“igures.” I whisper to myself with a slight grin and continue on my way.

**_ 3 Hours later, Market District. _ **

“Get your travel supplies here! discounts for new adventurers!” a nearby salesman NPC shouts, causing a big group of nearby players to line up in front of his shop.

“Spending your starting funds on NPC shops is a recipe for disaster, basically everything they’re selling can be found as monster drops.” I speak to myself as I continue walking down the crowded, narrow alleyway. Multiple stands decorating the narrow spaces in the left and right corners of the alleyway, some selling armor pieces, others, element stones for mages and magic based classes. A little of everything here and there.

“Hey, did you hear? Apparently, there’s a bunch of beta players coming down to the center of town later to make parties, we should join them! I bet they know the best spots to grind!” a player beside me clad in typical knight armor speaks aloud.

“Won’t they want some sort of compensation for all that knowledge? I bet they’ll want to keep all the rare drops! That sounds like such a drag…” his friend replies with an annoyed tone.

_Beta testers, huh? I guess knowing more than others can make you pretty famous in a world as big as this one._

  
“Took you long enough, it’s no good to keep a girl waiting you know?” I fixate my vision upwards to face the owner of the voice speaking to me.

“Kept you waiting, huh?” I reply in a mocking tone. The owner of the voice being none other than the one who introduced me to this game in the first place, Misaki Koetsu. A friend from overseas. For someone that was nearing her mid 30’s she sure acted like your typical high schooler. Long yellow hair released to flow freely, with a blue ribbon wrapped around the tips. She wasn’t very tall, at least her avatar wasn’t, standing at a rough 5 feet.

With a small grin and a crack of her knuckles a small shiver runs down my spine.

“Do you have any idea how long I waited here for you? God, you’re so tactless.” She cried out in annoyance, clear anger in her tone.

“Don’t know the meaning of the word.”

**_I really don’t._ **

“Anyway…I didn’t call you here to yell at you. there’s a race for living spaces going on right now, if we don’t hurry, we’ll end up homeless.” Misaki sighed and pushed her hands unto her hips. “I REALLY don’t want to sleep on the streets. **G-O-T I-T**?”

I look down with a sigh of defeat and make a mocking salute pose.

“Fine.”


End file.
